Outdoor Education
Studying nature is woven into the curriculum—regular fieldwork, overnight camping trips, and our flourishing garden all connect students to the natural world.
Project-Based Learning
Hands-on learning, where students plan and solve problems together, provides the depth, complexity, and relevance that gifted children need to fully and joyfully learn.
Our Themes
At Helios, humanities and science are woven together into highly engaging themes that explore life’s big questions.
Collaboration
Learning how to collaborate with others is part of every class. It teaches our students to advocate for themselves and prepares them for the world beyond Helios.
Social-Emotional Learning
Our SEL curriculum, which is both a dedicated class and integrated through the curriculum, helps gifted learners understand themselves and navigate relationships.
Our Community
Our 160-student body is diverse and connected to each other, our teachers, and our families.
Our Mission
Helios School is an innovative, independent school for K-8 gifted learners based on the San Francisco peninsula in Sunnyvale, CA. Our mission is to provide engaging and imaginative education that meets the unique intellectual, social and emotional needs of gifted students and their families and to empower authenticity through respect for self and others.
Our Motto: Be Respectful. Be Responsible. Be Kind.
Designed for Gifted Learners
What and how we teach is designed for gifted learners; their day is spent in an environment that is set up to challenge, support and delight them. Our goal is to help them understand who they are and how they learn.
![Project-Based & Theme-Based Curriculum]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1715657310/heliosnsorg/jpj67j4gjc0wlf2ne36p/solarsystem.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1715657310/heliosnsorg/jpj67j4gjc0wlf2ne36p/solarsystem.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1715657310/heliosnsorg/jpj67j4gjc0wlf2ne36p/solarsystem.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1715657310/heliosnsorg/jpj67j4gjc0wlf2ne36p/solarsystem.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1715657310/heliosnsorg/jpj67j4gjc0wlf2ne36p/solarsystem.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1715657310/heliosnsorg/jpj67j4gjc0wlf2ne36p/solarsystem.jpg","width":2200}])
Helios School offers a dynamic, project-based curriculum for gifted learners, emphasizing hands-on, thematic learning across multiple disciplines.
![Middle school students entering a math museum]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1714721081/heliosnsorg/bxnanjwq69y5j8c1vi04/NickandMadeleineMath.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1714721081/heliosnsorg/bxnanjwq69y5j8c1vi04/NickandMadeleineMath.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1714721081/heliosnsorg/bxnanjwq69y5j8c1vi04/NickandMadeleineMath.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1714721081/heliosnsorg/bxnanjwq69y5j8c1vi04/NickandMadeleineMath.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1714721081/heliosnsorg/bxnanjwq69y5j8c1vi04/NickandMadeleineMath.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1714721081/heliosnsorg/bxnanjwq69y5j8c1vi04/NickandMadeleineMath.jpg","width":2200}])
Helios's curriculum is designed to meet the varied intellectual and developmental needs of gifted learners, acknowledging that these students often develop asynchronously.
![Middle school students on a hike at sunset]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1714629614/heliosnsorg/tgqxq6lc4tyhzwgovxgc/MiddleSchoolHike.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1714629614/heliosnsorg/tgqxq6lc4tyhzwgovxgc/MiddleSchoolHike.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1714629614/heliosnsorg/tgqxq6lc4tyhzwgovxgc/MiddleSchoolHike.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1714629614/heliosnsorg/tgqxq6lc4tyhzwgovxgc/MiddleSchoolHike.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1714629614/heliosnsorg/tgqxq6lc4tyhzwgovxgc/MiddleSchoolHike.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1714629614/heliosnsorg/tgqxq6lc4tyhzwgovxgc/MiddleSchoolHike.jpg","width":2200}])
Helios School integrates outdoor learning into its curriculum, providing gifted students with a chance to immerse themselves in nature and learn essential academic and life skills.
![Kindergarteners outside practicing mindfulness]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1715657414/heliosnsorg/syozbeghfad7cvt0fr9g/sawyerAndMarloweWalking.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1715657414/heliosnsorg/syozbeghfad7cvt0fr9g/sawyerAndMarloweWalking.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1715657414/heliosnsorg/syozbeghfad7cvt0fr9g/sawyerAndMarloweWalking.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1715657414/heliosnsorg/syozbeghfad7cvt0fr9g/sawyerAndMarloweWalking.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1715657414/heliosnsorg/syozbeghfad7cvt0fr9g/sawyerAndMarloweWalking.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1715657414/heliosnsorg/syozbeghfad7cvt0fr9g/sawyerAndMarloweWalking.jpg","width":2200}])
Helios School focuses on the complex cognitive and emotional needs of gifted learners through a dedicated social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, and is guided by our motto: be respectful, responsible and kind.
![Our Spring Celebration]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1715666319/heliosnsorg/pbwdvijob4kucz6ioi7q/JayvensSpringCelebration2024.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1715666319/heliosnsorg/pbwdvijob4kucz6ioi7q/JayvensSpringCelebration2024.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1715666319/heliosnsorg/pbwdvijob4kucz6ioi7q/JayvensSpringCelebration2024.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1715666319/heliosnsorg/pbwdvijob4kucz6ioi7q/JayvensSpringCelebration2024.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1715666319/heliosnsorg/pbwdvijob4kucz6ioi7q/JayvensSpringCelebration2024.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1715666319/heliosnsorg/pbwdvijob4kucz6ioi7q/JayvensSpringCelebration2024.jpg","width":2200}])
Helios School deeply values the role of community in the education and development of gifted learners. By maintaining a small, intentionally diverse student body, ...